20 JAN 26 SITREP

• The United States announced that ten percent tariffs will be imposed beginning in February on Denmark, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom unless negotiations advance toward full United States acquisition of Greenland.
• The Greenland proposal was justified on national security grounds, including Arctic missile defense infrastructure, early warning radar systems, control of North Atlantic and Arctic shipping routes, and limiting strategic access by rival powers near North America.
• The issue was raised publicly during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, placing direct economic pressure on European governments during high level diplomatic and financial discussions.
• United States officials stated that the tariffs will remain in effect until a binding territorial agreement is reached, framing the move as a long term defense strategy rather than a conventional trade dispute.

• During yesterday’s press conference, President Donald Trump condemned the storming of a church in St. Paul, Minnesota during a Sunday church service and criticized fired CNN host Don Lemon for being embedded with anti-ICE agitators during the incident.
• Trump described the actions inside the church as horrible, praised the pastor for remaining calm while being accosted, and said the disruption targeted a place of worship during services.
• Don Lemon claimed on Sunday that he entered the church only to document events as a journalist, but viral footage showed him providing coffee and donuts to the agitators prior to the storming and interacting closely with organizers.
• The Department of Justice confirmed the incident is under investigation for potential violations of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, with Lemon releasing statements attempting to distance himself despite video showing prior knowledge of the planned action.

• Ashraf Osmani, a 52-year-old imam at Northampton Central Mosque in England, pleaded guilty to forcing two 16-year-olds to enter an Islamic Nikah marriage ceremony in November 2023.
• The marriage occurred nine months after the Marriage and Civil Partnership Minimum Age Act came into force in England and Wales, removing all legal exemptions for marriage under the age of eighteen.
• Northampton Crown Court heard that Osmani knew the girl involved was in foster care and that her foster parents opposed the relationship, yet he proceeded with the ceremony believing he was preventing religious wrongdoing.
• Mr Justice Akhlaq Choudhury rejected Osmani’s claim that he was unaware of the law, stated that ignorance was no defense, and imposed a fifteen week prison sentence suspended for twelve months as a deterrent.